Reflections on Intelligence

A lot of people are talking about “superintelligent AI” these days. But what are they talking about? Indeed, what is “intelligence” in the first place? This question is often left unanswered in discussions about the perils and promises of AI, an omission from which much confusion follows. More clarity and skepticism about this term “intelligence” is desperately needed. Hence this book. More

A lot of people are talking about “superintelligent AI” these days. But what are they talking about? Indeed, what is “intelligence” in the first place? This question is generally left unanswered, even unasked, in discussions about the perils and promises of artificial intelligence, which tends to make these discussions more confusing than enlightening. More clarity and skepticism about this term “intelligence” is desperately needed. Hence this book.

'Reflections on Intelligence' aims to look deeper into the concept of “intelligence”, and to question common assumptions about the phenomenon, or rather phenomena, that we refer to with the word “intelligence”. Based on such an examination, it proceeds to criticize some of the views and ideas commonly discussed in relation to the future of artificial intelligence, and to draw some general conclusions about the future of "intelligence".

Magnus Vinding is the author of Why We Should Go Vegan, Speciesism: Why It Is Wrong and the Implications of Rejecting It, You Are Them, Effective Altruism: How Can We Best Help Others?, and Suffering-Focused Ethics: Defense and Implications.